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Monday, February 23, 2015

Life is feeling like a crazy whirlwind. It's kind of always been that way, but feeling a little more intense now.

I'm back in Moab after my trip to Durango, Colorado and a visit with my parents. I've come here with an unusual friend named Derek I met hitchhiking through Montrose, Colorado. This post is an overview of what's happened the past couple months, since I haven't blogged in that time. But, first, these announcements.I'm fairly soon to be back in Colorado, on the eastern slope:

Recent HappeningsAt the invitation of the high school teacher Matt Dooley, I also did a presentation at the Animas High School in Durango, Colorado last Wednesday, Feb. 11th. The Durango Herald did an article on it, albeit a very inaccurate article, which got some of my main points completely opposite. But the comments on it are pretty interesting. It started out filled with negative comments by adults who hadn't attended. Then the students started responding. One of the high school teachers, Libby Cowles, posted:

"My favorite part about this front-page story on Daniel Suelo's visit to Animas High School yesterday is the dialogue happening in the comments section, and, in particular, the way our AWESOME students are responding to people's questions about what exactly we're trying to teach those kids."

The "Million Dollar Highway"

I stayed with Matt and his girlfriend, Meggie, as well as meeting so many of Matt's other splendid friends in Durango. I was also pleased to see my old friend Nate at the potluck after party. I now have some new good friends. From Durango, I decided to hitch to my parents' house via the spectacular old "Million Dollar Highway". I was given rides over the pass with two really friendly human beings, the first a local going on a ski trip in a beat up old Volkswagon bug, and the second was an ex policeman from Montrose who had worked in Iraq for 7 years. In Montrose I randomly met a young chap named Derek, and we seemed to connect on a spiritual level. I got another ride to Delta, slept in a field the night, and hitched here to my parents' in Fruita the next day. It turns out Derek's aunt in Delta brought him to my parents' house in Fruita. My friend Max then gave us a ride to Moab, where Derek has been camping with me.

All my co-inhabitant friends and visitors left after the New Year, and I realized I was by myself for the first time in nearly a year. On the one hand, I was enjoying my solitude, on the other hand, I missed everybody. This is an exercise on not getting attached to people. One of my last public posts (If you are considering staying with me...) was announced that I couldn't take more visitors, both due to not having the capacity to accommodate folks (getting pushed around on public land) and to a need for time to myself. I'm still discouraging folks from coming, for now, until further notice.

I already mentioned that, in the early winter, Matt and Ariella and Cat came to stay with me for a while. Later, Raven (a.k.a. Steph) and Freebird showed back up in town for a couple weeks! They had been hiking the Pacific Crest trail, among other adventures. Check out Raven's blog with her incredible photos: Spreading My Wings.
Also, two wandering Buddhist practitioners Gabriel and Jonathan came to visit me. They're French Canadians from Quebec, who had just hitch-hiked here to Moab from the Southwest Vipassana Meditation Center in Texas. Gabriel actually had given up all his money over a year ago. He and Jonathan decided to go on a pilgrimage to different Vipassana Buddhist centers in Canada and the US. Funny thing is, I had very briefly met Gabriel at the end of 2010 in Slab City. Back then, he had dred locks. He said when he'd learned I lived without money he'd thought it a bit odd. But he then had a kind of epiphany and was inspired to eventually renounce money years later!
Another intriguing synchronicity: Readers here might remember Mika, who joined us on our moneyless tribal walk the summer of 2013 (see The Moneyless Tribe Becomes Reality). It so happens that Gabriel and Jonathan had just met Mika, because, unbeknownst to me, Mika was a course manager at the Southwest Vipassana Meditation Center in Texas!Here are random pics to tell the rest of the story:

Suelo & Matt at my parents' for Christmas.
We made nearly the entire Christmas dinner from
a dumpster score.

Jammin with Matt

Matt, Ariella, Suelo, Freebird, Hawkeye the dog

Freebird, Suelo, Matt

Julia & Tucker the dog

Gabriel & Suelo
jammin' on the freenotes at Rotary Park

Gabriel, Freebird, Suelo

Matt, Gabriel, Ariella, Jonathan

Sam & Suelo
Wall-painting party at Trina's house

Here's what I finally came up with

Pemo's art to the left and
the cougar is Julia's art

The 2 faces are Matt's work

Ariella

Derek's masterpiece

Derek at work

Trina, who hosted the painting party

Stephanie Raven's gift of art to me
& my dad right before she left.

Suelo, Ariella, Matt
right before Matt left

Pemo

A sculpture I made in a canyon.
It's mentioned in "The Man Who Quit Money".
BLM rangers had toppled it onto its face. I thought it was
destroyed. It was too heavy for me alone to lift back up.
But over a year later somebody (2 or more people?) propped it back up again,
warming my heart.

My latest work in a secret place, while Daryl was here,
inspired by what he taught me about the Kabala.

Johnny, who took Matt away & brought him to Slab City.
This is Salvation Mountain outside Slab City.

Jeannine, Isa,Fen, and Cullen.
They live in Fruita, Colorado (my parents' town)
and Cullen (who is a master craftsman with everything he touches)
has been working on a documentary about me,
and we've grown to be the best of friends.

Monday, February 02, 2015

Okay, all the thousands of oh so so so clever and well-thought out criticisms that I'm a freeloader and a bum have finally convinced me! I'm sick of it and done with this!!!

If ya can't beat 'em, join 'em!

YES! I've decided I'm THROUGH... KAPUT... with the moneyless life! I've FINALLY come to my senses and am dumping this wacked-out gift economy-schmonomy-schtuff. I'm aiming HIGH and am going to be an entrepreneur!

You know, I've always pointed out how you'll notice when most people find something beauteous they exclaim, "We could SELL that!" Well, guess what? I've found a new market! AIR!!!

Salt Lake City
Air so smooth and silky you can cut it
with a butter knife!
Almost ready for privatization!

I'm gonna be rich!!!

I had this epiphany when I attended the Utah Clean Air Rally (Moab) last Saturday (January 31st)! At the rally, looking at all those commie complainers, I started having second thoughts!

Now think about this: air is a dangerous thing! AIR IS PURE COMMUNISM! I mean, look around: air is free to ANYBODY, even the LAZIEST deadbeat! Everybody SHARES it! Like, check out all the MOOCHERS that air has enabled ALREADY! They're EVERYWHERE like AIR! Air is Anti-American and AIRY FAIRY, the downfall of our Fair nation!

Amen!

We must PRIVATIZE air! Let the TALK of freedom ring!

Look! We've almost accomplished this goal with WATER: toxify it, make it inaccessible to all those not contributing dollars (birds, fish, deer, poor people), and then, VOILA, it's in our power to bottle it and market it to ONLY the DESERVING!

Gives me the same inspirational
shivers as when I lift my eyes to the moon!

After all, my idol, the chairman and former CEO of the Nestlé Corporation, Peter Brabeck-Letmathe, said a few years ago that water is NOT a human right and must be PRIVATIZED!

(2:27) "It's a question of whether or not we should privatize the normal supply of water for the population. And there are two different opinions on the matter. (2:35) The one opinion, which I think is extreme, is represented by the NGOs, who bang about declaring water a public right. (2:51) That means that, as a human being, you should have a right to water. That's an extreme solution. (3:00) And the other view says that water is a foodstuff like any other, and like any other foodstuff it should have a market value. (3:13) Personally, I believe it's better to give a foodstuff a value, so that we're all aware that it has its price."

Bless his heart, after much public backlash, Peter Brabeck later tried his backlash best to backtrack on his back-handed words. I'd do the same, now that I'm in the respectable ranks of esteemed entrepreneurs. You gotta say anything for business' sake... even schmooze to the liberals! They have money and drink bottled water, too! EVERYBODY hop on the privatization train! Or on a private boat to your new Nestle's plastic continent!

Ah, yes, it gives me goosebumps to look at the moon. NOT that I'm some pussy nature freak, but I look forward to the day when the earth follows the lunar example, where ALL air is privatized, available ONLY to the well-suited!

keep investing in the global economy (save the brown children! Provide jobs for 'em!); keep pushing for privatization; and, if you are Religious Right, keep bastardizing the communistic teachings of Jesus. You've done a wonderful job at it so far! Keep it up!

And, remember what the televangelists and their twin nemeses say: homosexuals and scantily-clad hussies cause hurricanes and tsunamis, but pollution can't change the climate!

Of course, they and we know no rational human on earth can believe this, but we gotta keep repeating it, because we're shootin' for the MOON!

Yup, that old Cree saying.
Yay! We're close to accomplishing our goal!
To the moon we go!

Invest in your private climate-controlled-made-in-China space suit right now while supplies last!

Jesus driving moneychangers & merchants from the Temple.

Sadhu of India

Call me Suelo

I lived totally without cents since Autumn of 2000 (except for a couple months in 2001) until the Spring of 2016, when I started caring for my aging parents, managing their finances. For 15 years I didn't use or accept money or conscious barter - nor did I take food stamps or other government dole. My philosophy has been to use only what is freely given or discarded and what is already present and already running (whether or not I existed).
I don't see money as evil or good: how can illusion be evil or good? But I don't see heroin or meth as evil or good, either. Which is more addictive and debilitating, money or meth?
Attachment to illusion makes you illusion, makes you not real. Attachment to illusion is called idolatry, called addiction. I simply got tired of acknowledging as real this most common world-wide belief called money! I simply got tired of being unreal. Money is one of those intriguing things that seems real and functional because 2 or more people believe it is real & functional!